Williow born at 30 weeks

A year ago tonight I was going around my normal nighttime rituals as I had done every right the past 8 weeks!! Awaiting to see which member of the lovely ward 19's midwifery team were looking after me blissfully unaware that just a few hours later I would be making the phone call to Chris to say he needed to be down the hospital and fast!!
Hard to believe our little warrior Willow Faith is a year old tomorrow!!! It's been a
roller coaster of a year but Happy 1st Birthday baby girl we love you so so much!!!

I've been asked numerous times to write down 'Our Story' but never shared it except for a few close friends that have asked to read it but suppose there's no time like the present. WARNING MAY BORE THE SOCKS OF YOU but know a few people have wanted to read it so here it is!!!

'Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by and that has made all the difference' - Robert Fast.

The journey that premature babies and their families embark on is one of it's own with many bumps and bends with big leaps and some of the smallest miracles is that of pure will. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will ultimately change your life forever, you will develop a profound perspective for the value of life after having watched your child fight for survival. Never lose hope.... Miracles happen every day.

January 13th 2015 should have been Willows 9 month milestone, instead we are celebrating her first year of life 3 months to soon. Willow was born at just 30 weeks of pregnancy. At 18 weeks my waters broke unexpectedly with no medical reason.

PPROM ( preterm premature rupture of membranes) is a rare condition that effect's less than 3% of pregnancies and it is the cause of approx one third of preterm deliveries. In most cases the labour process begins within one week of rupture. In the early hours of Nov 21st 2013 we got taken in to hospital following a big loss of fluid (23 weeks) and as we sat through that night in the hospital room crying thinking the end was near for our already much loved much wanted baby, her heartbeat was ever so strong (134 bpm) and I could still feel every move and kick. The Drs gave us a slim to zero chance of survival and still offered the possibility to consider a termination of pregnancy. Babies are not considered viable until 24 weeks of gestation.

My darling husband ( my rock) and I were faced with the life altering decision as the Drs advised us of the increased number of perinatal and neonatal complications that could arise including cord compression, neurological impairment, brain bleeds, chronic lung disease and so the list went on!! Against medical advice we choose to believe in our baby and my body. Together with sheer will and determination we fought for survival and viability.

After 8 weeks hospital bed rest and less than 1cm of measured amniotic fluid our little warrior made her debut! Born via emergency c section and in need of immediate breathing support with an agpar score of less than 2 the neonatal team rushed her over to the NICU. We spent the first 97 days of Willows life by her side hoping and praying each and every day - mostly for her continued strength and survival. Born with the possibility of severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia and in the weeks to follow a PDA, a Nectrotizing entcrocolotis scare, many blood transfusions, a cocktail of medications and various forms of breathing support. Statistics were against us but Willow was already beating the odds; she was alive and here! We decided in the name Willow Faith because that is what we had in her, complete Faith that our little 2lb miracle was a little warrior. She began meeting medical milestones in leaps and bounds.

Although sometimes it felt like 3 steps forward and 5 steps back her lungs were slowly improving and the breathing support equipment became less invasive. 97 days later we were able to bring our precious gift home in oxygen.... Tonight on the Eve of her 1st birthday she's having a sleep study with the possibility of discontinuing the use of oxygen at night IF her lungs are strong enough!!

PPROM is a rare condition with many uncertainties. Whether a victim of pprom or another devastating condition in every maternity ward, in every hospital, there are women lying in their bed fighting to keep their baby safely inside the womb. Our princess just didn't overcome pprom she's a survivor of placental abruption to which a dear friend of ours lost her beautiful angel baby so I'm more than aware how lucky we are to have her here today.
'The longer you have to wait for something the more you appreciate it when it finally arrives, the longer you have to fight for something the more priceless it will become when you achieve it, the more pain you have to endure on your journey the sweeter the arrival at your destination. All good things are worth waiting and fighting for' - Susan Gale

Willow has changed our life's and way of thinking and we are eternally grateful for the all the care we received from all the maternity staff and both teams at Singleton NICU and Bridgend SCBU because if it wasn't for them all our little warrior, Willow Faith would be here to celebrating her 1st birthday today.